Tag: Weekly Review

Peek at Our Week: February 13-17

Grace-Filled Writer
Sometimes our weeks are awesome. Sometimes our weeks are really hard. This week had some elements of both! I missed getting very many pictures this week it seems. I actually only have one of each of girls! There wasn’t more than normal going on, but I just forgot to get my camera out!
Rose (6th grade): Resurrection to Reformation Unit 23
 Rose didn’t feel all that well at the beginning of the week, but when I asked if she felt up to school she said she did, so we pressed on! We continued this week with math with Daddy in the afternoon. We missed a day or two because it is a new habit, but it is definitely continuing to work better. 
History is so fun with Heart of Dakota, even in the older guides. Rose enjoys the history projects. This week was labeling some information from one of the books she is reading into her history notebook. This wasn’t as interesting to her as other projects, like when she created an medieval coin out of clay a few weeks ago! 
She’s almost done with the third book in the Epic Order of the Seven series. She loves these books so much she wants to tell me all about what she has read as soon as she is done with a chapter. I love to see her so very engaged with literature. She has always loved to read, but she now often has a book in tow to read in the car at the very least wherever we go. 
Beth (4th grade): Creation to Christ Unit 4

Beth had quite an eventful week! On Monday she took her 1st clogging class. A good homeschooling friend told us about the class and how much her daughters have enjoyed it. we are looking forward to see where this goes and she had an absolute blast.

In other news, she loves her new guide! Beth very much enjoys all of the writing and drawing. I require her to write everything in cursive this year and even this doesn’t seem to be a problem. Math continues to come easily, but we are learning new things and she becomes impatient with the explanations at times. She did have a very good lesson in allowing me to teach a new concept before charging ahead as she did not fully understand and had to redo 2 worksheets.

Grace (1st grade): Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory Unit 31

 
Grace asked me just this weekend if I would let her start in her new guide early. I actually wouldn’t mind doing so because I believe she is more than ready and she’ll be continuing her study of American History so she won’t be missing anything. The only problem is I’m not prepared yet! I there aren’t a lot of things which need to be done, but there are some. One is that we’ll be using a different history text than what HOD recommends. I really love most of the history selections, but I do find myself editing as we read at times because of how some people groups are described. It does provide good conversations about whether names used historically were accurate or appropriate, but I am trying something different this time around for the text. I’ll post more about that later because as I said I’m not fully ready to move her into Bigger Hearts for His Glory yet.

She is moving quickly through both 2nd grade math texts and I anticipate we will be into 3rd grade by the summer. If we need to slow down, we will but I am not opposed to letting her pace herself as she has. She’s also reading through the Chronicles of Narnia faster than her sisters did. I did a quick reading assessment and she seems to be on a 4th or 5th grade level. I’m so grateful for the reading suggestions made by Heart of Dakota. Just because she is reading at a high level does not mean she is ready to handle some of the themes that are presented.

We tried something different this week and went to the library on Thursday to do our work. To be honest, Thursdays isn’t really the best day for this. Friday would be awesome because we have less work. Unfortunately our library is not open until 2:00pm on Fridays and by then I’m gearing up to teach piano lessons. So we tried Thursdays. The girls loved this! It was different, but the girls did focus really well. We came home so I could get lunch started (We eat our main meal at lunch) and then finished up.

And then things went haywire.

I’m not going to go into details because I don’t necessarily think it is appropriate in this particular venue. To be honest, the specifics don’t matter a whole lot. It was a classic battle of wills over something completely ridiculous. Mom gave an instruction. Child refused to acquiesces to Mom’s request. It wasn’t fun, it was exhausting, but, for the record, mom won the battle.

But guess what?  
It is normal. 

Kids are going to test boundaries. Parents continue to set limits The battles continue.

When the battles come, don’t lose heart. Seek Scripture. Seek godly council. Pray through the battle and lean into Jesus. Then get up and start the next day anew.

 Choose to see your little ones with the gifts God has given. That stubborn streak? Recognize the potential to see projects through to the end. That continuous stream of questions? Imagine what that curiosity might discover. That tendency to argue? Imagine the tenacity with which they will defend their faith. You see, it’s’ all a matter of perspective. So in the midst of the battle, choose to see beyond the battle to whom the ones fighting against you will become.

Peek at Our Week: February 6-10

Grace-Filled Writer

After a couple of weird weeks of trying to get over a cold we were happy to be back to a normal schedule and on pace with our Heart of Dakota curriculum. So this week was as “normal” as our weeks get! We squish a full Heart of Dakota unit into 3 days. The girls work incredibly hard on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. On Wednesday they take a science class and still complete language arts and math. On Fridays we also complete language arts and math, but that is usually it. Starting this next week I’m hoping to incorporate some other more fun learning opportunities for them. We’ll see how this goes!

Beth (4th grade): Creation to Christ Unit 3

Beth has settled in very quickly with the Creation to Christ guide. I’m not surprised as she has been with Heart of Dakota since preschool. Also watching her older sister work through the guides ahead of her gives her a nice idea of what to expect. For kids who are new to Heart of Dakota with this guide it will feel like a lot of work, but she is enjoying the challenges and mostly enjoying the independent nature. The one thing she said she misses is my reading history to her.  
(She collects Pandas! The 4 in the picture are just the tip of the iceberg!)
Beth is really enjoying the notebooking pages. They are so beautifully created! She is drawing a timeline entry here. We found for handwriting it is best to use Frixion Erasable pens on these pages. For drawing they sometimes use those or a pencil to begin and then use sharpies to fill in the color or outline. My girls have not had extensive art instruction, but Heart of Dakota encourages them early on to express themselves through art and all of them do a very nice job creating pictures. She did ask me to find a picture of a hand holding a heel for the timeline entry about Jacob and Esau. She couldn’t quite figure out how to make that! 
Rose (6th grade): Resurrection to Reformation Unit 22
 
There is nothing quite as cozy as reading in Narnia! We redecorated the girls’ room for Christmas last year as winter and spring Narnia. If you look closely at the stuffed animals on the bed you will see one that is a bit more alive than the others! One of the wonderful things about homeschooling is the freedom to study wherever is the most comfortable or least distracting. Rose and Beth like to study in their room and when the weather is nice outside because I’m still working so extensively with Grace. The quieter locations are preferred for them.

We are trying a different approach with math again. We aren’t changing curriculum though as I’m very happy with both Master Book’s Principals of Mathematics and Math Mammoth to supplement when needed. The trouble is mathematics is not my strongest subject. As we get to higher and higher levels I’m finding I struggle to remember all of the rules for various things so I am constantly looking things up to double check myself. My husband, on the other hand, absolutely loves math. He was planning to become a math teacher before he felt the call from God into ministry. So starting this week we are adjusting when Rose works on her math. She doesn’t even touch it until the afternoon when he comes home from the office. So far this has been great for all concerned. I’m not worried about telling her something incorrect and it also saves us time during the day. Since Rose does not really look forward to math it is good for her to know she does not have to worry about it in the morning. 

 Grace (1st grade): Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory Unit 30

  When questioned about Grace’s grade-level we always say, “1st grade,” but in reality, a better answer would be, “Well, it’s complicated.” This is in reality true for all the girls because they are working at higher levels for the most part than grade-level expectations. It’s the most true for Grace. She’s working through 2 levels of 2nd grade math and is about half-way through with both. She’s reading on a 5th grade level as well as beginning to write full stories, writes in cursive, and is learning formal grammar. All of these are typically not things children do until around 2nd grade. Such is the life of a homeschooler who is eager to learn. Still, she completes her work dressed as a princess and often has a stuffed animal on the desk or in her lap, because that is age-appropriate. What a beautiful thing to see her blossom academically, but remain the sweet young child she still is!

Sometimes she is no longer patient to wait on me to finish with one of her sisters before she begins reading her history. Since it is written at about a 3rd grade level this is no big deal for her until she comes upon a word of which she is unsure. When she was a little younger we used to call her our little dictionary because she would constantly ask what words meant that she did not know. Her vocabulary is quite varied and she still loves to learn new words. 


Math comes easily to Grace as well. We are completing two different curricula at her request: Math Lessons for a Living Education Level 2 and Math Mammoth 2nd grade. I cannot say no to this request and it doesn’t take her too much extra time. She’s typically finished with school 2 hours before her sisters anyway so having something a little extra to do is a great thing! 

How was your week? Leave a comment below and let me know!

Peek at Our Week: January 30-February 3

Grace-Filled Writer

So last week I came down sick. I already had the week planned so it wasn’t too big of a deal. My weekend, however, was derailed from feeling pretty bad and I didn’t get our full school week planned for this week. So we did a week of “fun school” as my girls like to call it.

When we do “fun school” I try to find all the things I would love to do but don’t get to fit into our days because they are so full. I’m toying with the idea of doing this every Friday. I struggle with changing anything…ever. I just need to jump in and go for it.One of the new things I did this week was have the girls study current events. We have a subscription to World Kids, World Teen and God’s Big World, which are Christian news magazines. They remind me of the news magazines I used to get in school as a kid, but with a Christian worldview. They usually read these just in their spare time, but this week I gave them a current events printable I’d found on pinterest to use to report about stories from the magazine. They really enjoyed this and I plan to make this a regular part of our week.

 We also enjoyed some other fun things like Signing Time and some educational shows I’ve had stashed away, but haven’t had a chance to show them. We also were working with some curriculum we are reviewing so you’ll see more of those in the weeks to come!
So we had an off-routine week, but it was a good week. Learning occurred and Mama recuperated!

Peek at Our Week: January 23-27

Grace-Filled Writer
I’m typing this in between tissue breaks and sniffles. I can speak, but I don’t sound very good. So what were we up to this week? The girls got a lot of work done in spite of my not feeling well. It seems that in the last several years if I get a cold, I will lose my voice. I don’t know the reasons behind this, but it has been 100% true for at least the last 5 years! I don’t really feel too horrible except for severely clogged sinuses, but away my voice will fly. This time it started with a sore throat so talking was not very fun. Thanks to a wide variety of treatments including essential oils and modern medicine I am on the mend even if I don’t sound very good.
The girls were so good about it all though! I modified our schedule a bit and we took a break from our full language arts (grammar, writing, literature, & spelling) and they just read for fun. We also took a little break from math. We did stay the course with history, Bible, and poetry, basically all that makes Heart of Dakota unique and fun! I knew they could handle these studies with only a little help from me because they love them so much and are eager learners. They have also learned our routine quite well and it is no big deal if Mommy is down for a day or two…or 4! 
Rose (6th grade): Resurrection to Reformation Unit 21

 So if you look at last week’s week in review, this picture will look very familiar. Rose is cuddle up in her favorite sweatshirt under her favorite blanket in her favorite spot to read for school! The only thing missing is a little puppy, who joined her soon after I snapped this picture. She is reading Mr. Pipes here, but this is usually where she snuggles in for all of her reading assignments. 
She actually kept reading the book I had assigned for literature this week. I usually assign books but every once in a while they get to make their own pick for literature with my approval. She’s currently reading through the Epic Order of the Seven. If you haven’t heard of these books before, go look them up now! They are so very well written and engaging. I would classify them as biblical fantasy fiction. I know those first two wouldn’t normally go together, but the main characters are animals who talk and converse with one another, so that is where the fantasy comes in. FYI this is not a review endorsement. I just stumbled upon this title at our local Christian bookstore and it was a hit!
 Beth (4th grade): Creation to Christ Unit 2

Here is Beth in her preferred spot for reading for school. Snuggled under the covers in her bed. Sometimes this is the bottom bunk and sometimes the top. Beth is loving the Creation to Christ guide. I always find introducing my younger two girls to new guides. I think this reason is two-fold. The first is that I have gone through it once or twice, so I know exactly what to expect. The second is they have watched their older sister (or sisters for Grace!) travel through history the Heart of Dakota way, so they anticipate each guide. 
Beth is also fairly introverted so she likes working independently. She’s very good about coming and asking for help, but once I give it, off she goes to complete an assignment alone. She is enjoying the wonderful literature paired with this guide. I love how historical fiction draws them into the time period.
Grace (1st grade): Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory Unit 29
 
Grace is enjoying poetry more and more! I remember when we started this guide and she could not really understand what the poetic language was saying. Now she loves to tell me what she thinks it means before I have a chance to explain it and most often she is correct! That is the beauty of studying poetry together. It helps kids to learn to think creatively and also to interpret for themselves what is being said. I still of course help her know some of the harder things, but she generally gets the overall meaning. 
Grace is reading on a 4th or 5th grade level at this point, so she enjoyed reading her history aloud to me instead of me reading it to her! She also asked to start the 3rd book in the Chronicles of Narnia. I’m constantly amazed at the progress my children make academically and I love that I get a front row seat to it all! We have difficult things and struggles, but conquering those are all the sweeter because I’ve watched the struggle first-hand. 
So there was a little glimpse! If you look closely at this last picture you’ll notice our laundry piles waiting to be washed. Yup, we’re normal! The laundry room is in the hallway behind where Grace is standing so I often leave the sorted piles in the floor while I’m waiting to get them in the wash. Chores definitely happen in between all the schoolwork!

Comment and tell me how your week was!

Peek at our Week: Janurary 16-20

Grace-Filled Writer
Another week has come and gone. Nothing extraordinary, but that is what God is teaching me as the new year unfolds: Faithfulness in the ordinary is extraordinary. When we feel like we aren’t accomplishing anything or that we are spinning our wheels in vain when it comes to our daily routines, it glorifies the Lord when we press on with a good attitude. This is true whether you are home for most of your day or working full time. It is also true that we all feel this way from time to time. When it starts to bubble up, push back with prayer and Scripture. 


Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31

Do all things without grumbling or disputing
Philippians 2:14 
Realigning your perspective with Christ can change everything. 
Here is a peek at our extraordinarily ordinary week
Grace (1st grade): Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory Unit 28 

 Grace is becoming anxious to begin her new guide because her sisters started a new guide this week. I’m glad we have a few weeks before we begin though as I’m helping Beth become acclimated to her new guide. Grace learned more about Davy Crockett this week in history. We enjoy the history book in these last units, both the style of writing and how each chapter teaches how people lived in colonial and pioneer days. There are a lot of good illustrations and descriptions of things like soap making, churning butter, making a canoe, and more.

We are plodding along with all of our other subjects. They are all going well with no real bumps except she would like to be moving more quickly through her studies! For literature she has been reading through the Kirsten books from Pleasant Company. She finished the last book this week and asked to read the next book in the Chronicles of Narnia, so she will soon be voyaging on the Dawn Treader.

Rose (6th grade): Resurrection to Reformation Unit 20

Our pup Penny loves to cuddle with the girls while they read for school. Usually they read literature and history assignments in the living room or their bedroom and Penny quickly follows when she sees a book in hand! Rose is enjoying the Mr. Pipes book she is reading in this guide. She says the one thing she loves about our history studies is how all the reading is connected and she gets to read lots of different books about the same time in history. This is just one more reason I’m grateful for Heart of Dakota and all the time the author put into researching and finding these great gems of literature!

Math is bumpy, but less bumpy than previously. Hope for fewer and fewer bumps!

Beth (4th grade): Creation to Christ Unit 1


The start of the a new guide is always exciting. Beth was happy to have notebook pages like her big sister. She dove right in, completing all the boxes with gusto. Although she sometimes gets tired of the amount of writing which is required now, she rarely complains with more than a sigh, and those are getting less and less. This guide is a big jump in independent workload from Preparing Hearts for His Glory. Her days were a little longer than I think they will be in the future this week because I had to explain quite a bit about how to complete each box. 

She has come to love diagramming as much as Rose! She loves order and logic, so diagramming is just a way to express the order and logic of our language. 
I’d love to hear about your week! 


Peek at our WeeK: January 9-13

Grace-Filled Writer

Our first week back went very well! It always does though. By the time we start back after our break everyone is ready for routine, especially me! That being said, our routine was still not quit back because we had a nice little snowstorm over the weekend. My poor kids still had school while all the neighbors were off, but they said they didn’t mind and understood. Not to mention the high was in the 20s, which I know is not a big deal for some of you! We, however, are not used to those temps here in the South.

Here are a few highlights of the week…
Rose (6th grade): Resurrection to Reformation Unit 19
 
 We utilize a number of other wonderful resources. This is a World History book from Usborne. We have been given so many wonderful resources between the reviews I write and the generosity of family and friends. I’ve bought a few, but only a very few beyond our regular curriculum. Many times we use these for research or further study of things that are interesting to the girls. Here, Rose is doing some research for one of her boxes using the book and our globe.
We finished up a short unit on fractions in Math Mammoth and this week began chapter 5 in Principals of Mathematics again. This chapter on fractions did not quite click with Rose, so we took a break from the book to study them in a different curriculum. This was exactly the right course to take. The chapter is going very well this time around!

Rose really loves the notebooking pages from Heart of Dakota. They are so very beautiful! Lots of paintings, maps, and space to write what she is learning. We use Frixion erasable pens and they write beautifully on the pages which are a little slick. Anytime she needs to draw she uses the Frixion pens for outlining and skinny sharpie markers to add color details. 
Beth (4th grade): Preparing Hearts for His Glory Unit 35
My girls love grammar! I love that they love grammar. There is so much good that comes from understanding the structure and parts of sentences. “New” research suggests there is no benefit from learning to diagram sentences. I disagree mostly because of experience. I do not claim to be a researcher or to have studied extensively, but my experience as an English teachers has shown me otherwise. I have 9 years of experience teaching 7th and 8th grade English. The students who come into my classes with a strong grammar background, including diagramming sentence, are better writers. They know not only how to form sentences, but how to add to them in a creative and correct manner. So that’s my soapbox about grammar and writing! 
I feel a little teary as we end our studies in Preparing this week. It is such a rich guide, full of new things and introducing so many topics. One of my favorite things about this guide is the introduction to other religions. I know that may seem odd to some, but I love that we explored several other belief systems in a way that helped my daughter see why we believe the truth of God’s Word. I do not shy away from telling my girls about these things because I want them to know it is okay to come to us and to God with questions concerning their faith. Beth accepted Christ as her Savior when she was four. There is so much growth which will happen for her as time passes and I want her to feel free to come to us with any questions she has. She will encounter other religions and we believe it is important we introduce those to her so she does not feel like we have been hiding anything from her as she grows up. 
Grace (1st grade): Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory Unit 27

 Grace told me this week she absolutely loves school! She never complains, gets excited about everything we do, and usually tries her best. Sometimes she does rush through an assignment, but that is usually because she is so excited to get to something new. If she had to pick one thing she probably doesn’t love as much as others I think it would be Bible memory. She does this very well, but seems to feel it takes too long. She likes to move quickly! I am very pleased at how her understanding of the verses is growing. Where at the beginning of the guide I usually had to guide her to an understanding, she is getting it more and more all on her own. It is such a beautiful thing to see her spiritual growth through our studies!

This week we cooked cornbread for her history project. It was delicious! This was my first time cooking it from scratch, but it is a recipe we we will come back to again I’m sure. We have only seven more weeks to spend in this sweet guide. Grace is excited to move forward. I’m sad to see it pass. It is bittersweet with her each time we finish a guide because she is our youngest.

In looking ahead I am considering using a different text in both Bigger Hearts and Preparing Hearts. Some of the resources from Master Books may be a better fit for us. We do want to keep the feeling of living history though so I will see what I think as time gets closer. 
Other highlights…
Rose scored 4 points in her first basketball game with Upwards! 
Beth made a Snow Panda sculpture once it started melting enough to stick together. We don’t usually get snowman or snowball making snow! 
Grace cheered in her first Upwards basketball game! She is totally in her element and I’m totally out of mine with this, but she is doing a great job and this program is very good, and probably the only cheer program that we would be comfortable with our girls participating! 
Busy week and lots more busy weeks to come this year. I’m glad it got off to a good start!

Peeks at our Week: Christmas!!!! (December 25-Jan 6)

Grace-Filled Writer

We are rarely home on Christmas day. The only other times this has happened was when I was in the hospital after emergency surgery. To have Christmas on a Sunday is very, very special. At the same time Christmas on a Sunday for the pastor’s family isn’t all that relaxing! That is why we had our “First Chrismas” earlier in the week. On Christmas morning we gave the girls their stockings.

 After a beautiful service worshiping with our church family we headed over to my parents’ house for “Second Christmas” as my girls call it! My amazing mom and dad made the best Christmas dinner. We had steak, chicken, and too many sides for me to remember! We stuffed ourselves silly and then opened gifts. 
We got up early the next day and drove to South Florida to celebrate “Third Christmas” with my husband’s family. This crew of 10 kids are my favorite group in the entire world! I missed having cousin camp with them in summer 2016 and hope to do it again this coming summer! We opened gifts the night we got there which you can imagine is one giant chaotic celebration! 
Christmas in Florida means swimming! Most of the kids really enjoyed it. Rose is more like I am and felt it was a bit too cold. You can see her shivering on the right! 
 
A trip to Grammy and Grampy’s house is not complete without a stop at Dairy Queen! 

 
Then we celebrated New Years together. Our fireworks were in the driveway.
 
I’d love to hear how your Christmas was! If you have a blog link leave it in the comments! 

Peek at Our Weeks: December 12-23

Grace-Filled Writer
‘Tis the season for FUN SCHOOL! 
As the days creep closer to Christmas I have found our family functions better without our traditionally structured schedule. So we still filled our days with learning, but much of it was what I normally don’t have time to fit in! 
First we had our piano recital! I teach 36 students including my 3 girls. It was absolutely beautiful and although I was a bundle of nerves everyone performed beautifully! 

 Taking time for art! We all get out our art supplies and worked some more with our See the Light art curriculum given to us by a dear friend! 
The same friend who gave us the art curriculum also bought us Signing Time! We now have the full series two and the first part of Signing Time Sentences! We are so very blessed! We spent some time each day learning new signs.

Our neighbor purchased two ginger bread houses and blessed us with one of them! It was already put together thankfully because I’ve since been finding out that getting these things put together is a headache! So we had fun decorating and then eating our creation!

The weather has been quite mild so there was a lot of outdoor play. Our neighbors were all in school part of the first week, but the girls enjoyed time with Penny (our puppy) and just playing outside. 

Finally we celebrated our first of 3 Christmases several days early. With all of the traveling we do we like to have our family Christmas early so everyone can enjoy it. We spent the day in our jammies playing with our new things and just enjoying one another. I know a lot of families have been trimming down Christmas. We do not buy the girls much during the year that isn’t needed and while I do not think we go overboard, we enjoy experiencing Christmas like this with them. This year they each were given one larger toy and then lots of books and games.
My sweet husband bought my a new iPad which was just a HUGE surprise for me! My old one was so old it no longer updated and many of the apps I use for homeschooling, teaching my English class, and teaching piano just weren’t working well anymore. I’ve had a grand time getting it all set up! 
My next update will be post-Christmas! 

A Peek at our Week: December 5-9

Grace-Filled Writer
This was our last week of “full school” before our Christmas break. We will have some fun learning next week, but not the full structure we normally have. 
Rose: Resurrection to Reformation Unit 18
Confession: This is not a picture from this week! Because Rose is more and more independent (which I LOVE!) and her sisters are not she often wanders to different rooms or outside when the weather is nice to get her work done. She likes to study in quiet which is hard to do with two younger sisters in need of their mommy’s help with school! Anyway, this is from a couple of weeks ago but I’m going to make a better effort after the New Year to make sure I get more pictures of her. 
She still loves this guide so much and I’m excited to be half-way through now! We were always “ahead” with her in the guides until I started having some health issues in 2012. Then we slowed down for both our sakes and now she’s tracking to finish the last high school guide in 12th grade. I’d actually like to keep moving through the summer and see if we can get a little ahead. I’m not trying to rush her, but she can handle it and I would like for the girls to finish the HOD guides by 11th grade. We’ll see how it goes. 
Grace: Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory Unit 26

This week we talked about the Star Spangled Banner and the Pledge of Allegiance which she practiced saying to our American flag we have in the room. We never do this so she thought it was quite funny! She does know the pledge because of AWANA so she just thought it was silly to recite in our classroom. She enjoyed learning about the national anthem and we listened to an Adventures in Odyssey through the Odyssey Adventure club about the story behind the writing of that poem. 
She was sad we will be taking a break from her guide for a little bit, but she understands we need a break. As we edge closer to Bigger Hearts for His Glory I’m praying she still enjoys school as much. That is a wonderful, wonderful guide, but it is a big jump in work-load and my older two struggled a bit to adjust. I’m hoping she dives right in with gusto as her sisters did. The easiest part will be her sisters will be in the older guides and not need me as much so I can focus in on Grace more. 
Beth: Preparing Hearts for His Glory Unit 35

Just one more unit and we will be done with my favorite guide so far in the series! Although I  know Bethe loves this guide, especially Grandpa’s Box, she is incredibly excited to move up into the next guide! She is tracking way ahead and will be starting Creation to Christ as a 4th grader. I would be happy to let her slow down, but she does everything well and loves it so much. This does give us wiggle room as we think ahead to junior high and high school. This also puts her on the track I want her older sister to get to. All three of my girls are studious and eager. I’m so grateful we homeschool because I think they may be bored in a traditional classroom at times. 
In this picture Beth is working on her writing with Writing Strands. This is absolutely the best writing program I have found and I am recommending it to everyone I know! I’ve reviewed many writing programs and while all have their good points, this one is simple and solid without taking extensive amounts of time. I’m so excited as we continue through this curriculum! 
Over the weekend…

Over the weekend we went to a drive-through nativity at a friend’s church. It was a lot of fun and we were especially excited to see our friends in the performance! I have researched more this year to find fun things to experience with the girls this season. This was definitely a highlight. 
I hope you are all enjoying the season as we prepare to celebrate our Savior’s birth!

Peek at our Week: November 28- December 2

Grace-Filled Writer
 Back to “full school” as the girls call our regular studies! We will have one more week and then a break from the regular for about a month. Between our Christmas celebrations, recital, vacations, and general busyness of the season I love that we can take a break this way! 
The girls were working really hard Wednesday morning to get their work done before their science class at our local homeschool learning center. On Wednesdays and Fridays we only do basics: Math, English, and Bible. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday are reserved for our Heart of Dakota curriculum. 
 Grace: Bigger Hearts for His Glory Unit 25
Grace is enjoying learning cursive! She has been wanting to do so for a while. We are using Handwriting Without Tears mostly because it was given to us by someone who decided not to use it. I’ve used various handwriting curriculum. We loved Fundanoodle for print and this was a good transition for cursive for us. 
She is happy we are moving into more about colonial America with our history studies. She loves learning about kids from that time period. She’s also excited about our history and science activities. She also loves reading and spelling. Not to mention grammar…Okay, so you can see this little girl just loves to learn no matter what it is about! 
Grace begin cheer leading with Upwards Sports this week. It is exactly her niche and we feel comfortable with the program as opposed to some of the other cheer programs we have seen.
Beth: Preparing Hearts for His Glory Unit 33
 Beth has become so very independent! This is great as we will be very soon moving into the Creation to Christ which is very independent. We will do some work together, but most of this history will be independent with just check-ins with me. I’m so happy to see her growing this way. 
She told me today how much she loves spelling, especially All About Spelling. I’m glad to hear it, but I’m trying to rework how and when we do those lessons. It is getting harder to fit it in as they have more and more work to do. I’ll be trying to figure this out over the next weeks.
Rose: Resurrection to Reformation Unit 17
 
Half-way through!!!! We are using this guide for 6th grade and she is flourishing! We will probably end this before the year is over and start the next guide. Rose is getting much better about completing her work more diligently and with greater effort. I’m sure this will ebb and flow, but for now we are in a “flowing” season. Yay! 
She’s continuing to read Anne of Green Gables and seems to enjoy it. I’m in the process of creating a list of classics for her to read. Math is stable too which is a nice reprieve! She’s growing up so very much, but still very much a kid at times and that is exciting. She will begin basketball with Upwards this coming week and she cannot wait for that!
Happy December!